A study on factors enhancing repurchase intention at unigroup education Co., Ltd.

Abstract

Vietnam's online education and EdTech market has experienced consistent growth, yet customer retention remains a critical challenge for small and medium-sized providers. UniGroup Education Co., Ltd., an online academic support company operating in Ho Chi Minh City, has encountered three key symptoms of business instability during 2022–2025: a continuous decline in average revenue per customer, a falling repurchase rate (from 26.10% in 2023 to 23.98% in 2025), and an escalating customer dropout rate in the sales process (rising from 25% in 2022 to 42% in 2025). Empirical research on repurchase intention in the Vietnamese EdTech context, particularly for academic support services, remains limited. This study addresses that gap by applying an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework, incorporating Perceived Quality, Perceived Value, Authenticity, and Perceived Risk as antecedents of Attitude, alongside Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioral Control, and Self-efficacy as direct predictors of Repurchase Intention. Primary data were collected from 431 UniGroup customers via an online survey and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLSSEM) with SmartPLS 4.0. The results indicate that Perceived Behavioral Control exerts the strongest direct effect on Repurchase Intention (β = 0.232), followed by Subjective Norms (β = 0.222) and Self-efficacy (β = 0.208), while Attitude mediates the effects of all four cognitive antecedents. Notably, Perceived Quality is identified as the most powerful predictor of Subjective Norms (β = 0.338), generating a significant indirect pathway to Repurchase Intention. Perceived Risk and Authenticity emerge as the dominant antecedents of Attitude. The findings provide UniGroup and similar EdTech SMEs with evidence-based managerial recommendations to reduce dropout rates, improve customer retention, and transition toward a sustainable, retention-driven growth model.